Apple Watch 5: Rumors, Price, Fitness Features, Battery and more

The Apple Watch Series 4 was a big step forward for Apple's handmade clothing: sophisticated design, a larger screen, and a well-known FDA-cleared ECG technology for charging. But this year's Apple Watch Series 5 could be even better. Even though the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch at the moment, it doesn't mean it's perfect. The Apple Watch lacks some important features present to some of its competitors, especially when tracking fitness and OLED screens . There is also a rumor about titanium and ceramic Apple Watch models . We expect to see this in the Apple Watch Series 5 based on current rumors ̵

1; and the missing features of Series 4.

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The Apple Watch Series 4 is delivering on its fitness promises

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Missing feature: Sleep tracking …

Bloomberg released a report in February that Apple plans to integrate advanced sleep tracking into the Apple Watch, but maybe by 2020 Apple Watch can't track sleep, at least not native. Instead, it relies on third-party sleep tracking applications that can be installed on the clock, but is by no means a fully integrated solution that works seamlessly through Apple's own health and activity applications. The iPhone has had a sleep-related clock for years, and ensuring adequate sleep certainly coincides with other major cardiac health and wellness missions. (Apple acquired Beddit Sleep Tracking Company in 2017.) Perhaps the 2019 clock will take a step toward improving hardware to allow sleep tracking.

Read more: Apple Watch: All the health and fitness features explained

… that will require a better battery life

The Apple Watch will need a better battery life battery to track sleep. It can currently take up to a day and a half before it needs recharging. Reports on improved battery life are already there. The most obvious solution would be to increase the size of the battery and possibly shrink other components. Or, the Apple Watch Series 5 may add a more efficient processor that can go into low power mode at night. Qualcomm's new Wear OS chips last year also targeted similar longer-life features. The latest rumor in Chinese economic daily news suggests that Apple is considering changing screen technology from OLED to more energy-efficient MicroLED technology to improve battery life with the next Apple Watch . However, the report suggests that it may not be ready by 2020.

The ECG was a distinctive feature of the Apple Watch S4 … what's next?

James Martin / CNET

What are the chances of another health function cleared by the FDA?

WatchOS 6 will introduce the Cycle app to track the menstrual cycles of Apple Watch women, along with the Noise app to monitor the different sound levels you are exposed to throughout the day. But these features will come with previous models and do not require FDA approval.

If the Watch S5's sleep tracking features are available, they probably won't be cleared by the FDA either. The results of the clinical trials were published before clearance, as it happened, and we have not yet heard anything. Fitbit, which has had sleep tracking features on its tracking devices for years, has pursued FDA clearance to detect sleep apnea and has a new beta result from sleep, which has been in existence since 2018 to collect more data. This could be more accurate as to where Apple can target between the S5 and S6 watches.

Blood pressure is unlikely, although competitors are exploring ways to track the clock. The Omron HeartGuide is an inflatable wristwatch that is more a medical device than a regular smartwatch. Samsung has a study with UCSF that examines how successful the Heart Rate Monitor Galaxy Watch Active can evaluate blood pressure, but the study is included and has not yet yielded definitive results.

Read more: Best Health Devices for iPhone and Apple Watch

Will there ever be a watch store?

Apple Watch is the latest major smartwatch with no way to get new faces of the watch: Samsung, Fitbit, Google Wear OS and Garmin have some form of watch store.

Last year, a specialized watch store seemed like a real possibility. But this was never realized . Will it happen in 2019?

The new Galaxy Watch Active can be wirelessly charged at the back of the new Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus. Apple Watch still doesn't use Qi.

Samsung

Can the S5 clock be charged on the back of the next iPhone?

Now that AirPower is dead, the Apple Watch feels lost on its own charging island. Watching the Series 5 was supposed to work with AirPower, but it doesn't currently work with Qi wireless chargers. Maybe the next watch will … or maybe the next iPhone will allow wireless charging from its back like the Samsung Galaxy S10 and allow it to work with AirPods and Apple Watch models.

Faster processor and more secure connection

Under the hood, we can expect the gradual changes Apple has made to Apple Watches in the past. The Series 3 has a dual core W3 S3 chip and a W2 wireless chip, while the Series 4 has a dual core 64 bit processor S4 chip, making it nearly twice as fast as its predecessor, as well as the W3 wireless chip. Probably the next Apple Watch have a S5 chip and a W4 wireless chip. But apart from knowing the name, it's hard to say how the new chips will affect the overall performance of the 5. Series.

When will the Apple Watch work without an iPhone?

An iPhone that required a computer to set up. So did the iPod. The Apple Watch remains an iPhone-only device at the moment, but that may change very soon. The next WatchOS 6 update, coming in September, will make Apple Watch more independent of the phone by providing it with a standalone app store and live updates, which you can download directly to your watch. Most recently, we learned that WatchOS 6 will give you access to Apple Watch workout summaries, even after you have released them. (Before you had to look them up in the iPhone Activities app.) The only thing missing to release the Apple Watch from the iPhone is the initial setup process, which may appear in Series 5.

Angela Lang / CNET

Can a new base model Apple Watch appear at a lower price?

The Apple Watch Series 1 was a great smart watch that managed to be more budget friendly than $ 400 (or more) Series 4. Currently, this "affordable" model is the Clock Series 3 which is still quite expensive at a starting price of $ 279. The rising price of the Watch S4 and the falling prices of Fitbit followers which can cost as little as $ 70, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active which sells for $ 200, mean that Apple has no solid a $ 200 viewing option. Perhaps a basic Apple Watch model, in the spirit of a 9.7-inch iPad called the "iPad," could fit the bill.

Or will you watch the watch with more expensive designs?

Ming-Chi Kuo analyst predicts that the next Apple Watch will have a ceramic design option, probably showing a higher price line … or maybe not. Apple's ultra-expensive Watch models have disappeared, but the Apple Watch's base price continues to creep higher. The Apple Watch Series 4 steel has a ceramic back, but a sapphire crystal and a steel case.

And the sole will be the round face of the 5 Series watch. Apple has filed patents with this circular design, but it has not deviated much from its original design after launch. Perhaps this was the last major contribution of design guru Johnny Ive to the Apple Watch before left the company ?

Originally published on 22 April. Update, July 24 : Updated with latest rumors.